First overnight in our boat March 18th-20th 2011

Took the picture from the dingy.
Cathy and Don

My favorite place on the boat.

Harvest moon. It was awesome.

I think this was a sunset...I get confused with the pictures.

Anchored out at Cayo Costa in Pelican Bay.

Don and Cathy in the dingy.

On shore walking to the beach.

Jerry and I walking to the beach.

John and I on the beach.

Don and Cathy

John and Jerry.

It was a gorgeous day on the beach.

The two boats tied together.

Jerry and I on the bow on our trip home.

Cathy and Don in front of us on the ICW.

We rented a slip at Cabbage Key for a night.

The restaurant at Cabbage Key.

Dinner at Cabbage Key.

What a beautiful weekend for our first overnights! Don and Cathy met up with us and we anchored out together one night. Don has a dingy on his boat (we are getting one) and so we could ferry to shore to explore.

The next night we rented a slip at Cabbage Key and ate dinner there and did a little hiking.

All in all it was a great trip, everything worked wonderfully and it was very fun.

Nancy and Curt's visit and re-connecting with old friends

Stuck in an elevator in a downtown hotel

in Ft Myers. Don, Cathy, Christine, Paula and

Jerry in the background.

Christine taking a pic of me...2 unknown ladies

that one's husband was not happy with us.

Don, Connie in the background and Jerry.

Don and Cathy's house in Cape Coral...check out the

view from their lanai.

Long story...We were on Don's boat and

he had 3 guns on board!!! OMG and AK 47!

Christine resting on the bow, and Cathy and I

getting down with the music at sunset!

Don and Cathy

Nancy and Curt

Nancy, Curt and Maddie.

Ok, I got these pictures in backwards order...oh well, at least I did it!

Nancy and Curt came from Illinois to visit and we had a really fun time. A friend of Nancy's,

Cathy Holmes, used to live in Dallas when Nancy did, so we met her about 20 years ago. She got divorced and now moved to Ft Myers with her new boyfriend Don. Don lives in Cape Coral, Fl and turns out he has a 42' SeaRay..Sedan Bridge. Same size as ours but configured differently (different model). So we hooked up with them at their house and went out for a cruise and Jerry and Christine also came with us. Their house has an awesome view down a canal off their lanai.

While we were on the boat....we got to talking about pirates etc...and Don said he carried 3 guns on board! So I just had to see the AK47...never saw one before. John and I, as it turns out, are probably the only people we know that don't carry on their boat or motorhome!!

One night Christine, Jerry, Nancy, Curt, Paula, Connie, Don and Cathy and John and I went downtown for the pub crawl. These restaurants were supposed to have free appetizers...but..noooo, when we got there they were always gone. So, we proceeded to drink and "crawl" and ended up on the rooftop of the Indigo Hotel with a band (DJ) and danced till midnight. On the way out of the hotel we had to take the elevator from the 12th floor ...or whatever floor, and of course we were all potted and thought it would be fun to all jump at once....well, low and behold, the elevator stopped!!!! There were 2 other couples in there we didn't know...and Nancy and Curt were not with us...they stopped in the restroom. Well, this one man was not happy with us at all, but we thought it was hilarious. We were actually stuck for about 15 min. Come to find out that elevator has done this before.....(not that we shouldn't have jumped...) Anyway, we were children that night but sure had fun!!!!

First outing on the Gulf

The dolphins have arrived!
Just like Sea World.

What a site.

Maddie holding down the bow.

Jerry, chillin.

I wasn't too excited.

John at the helm.

John

This was out first outing. It was a beautiful day. Jerry got to check John out on all the systems and we really didn't go too far...just a couple hours. It was awesome.

Jerry arrives from Houston with new boat

Side view
Rear view

AAnother side view.

The Galley (kitchen)

Forward stateroom

Aft stateroom.

The salon.

I came back from Minnesota and Jerry and Captain John (a guy we hired) got back with the boat that we finally found. Had to go to Houston, TX to find it...but job well done.

It is a 2001 420 AC SeaRay. We all were sooo excited and also a little anxious, because the saying "a boat is a hole into which you throw money" is kinda true. John and I feel blessed to have Jerry and Christine as partners because they have boated a lot on the gulf and in this area and also Jerry's vocation was an engine man...and knows those cummins engines inside and out and also knows how to work on them. All 4 of us start a safety and boatsmanship class on Monday the 7th. Mostly for insurance purposes, and just to learn about navigating the ocean and a lot of basics.

Happy 9th Birthday, Sydnee Jaclyn Dawson

Yep, she is 9 and beautiful.
Dad, Jeff did an excellent job,
(along with a little help from Grandma Joan.)

Syd and Grayson playing ball, Grayson's rules!

Viola......Syd's new bike. Too bad there is 2 feet of

snow on the ground and she can't use it for 3 more months!

She looks good in pink tissue!

I wish Grayson would have been looking, but

they both are just too cute!

Even Sandy was tired after this party.

Sydnee was 9 Feb 25, 2011. When I went back to Minnesota for Grayson's first birthday, I was lucky that Jeff was celebrating Sydnee's birthday 5 days early so I could be a part of that

celebration too. It was a nice party and fun to have all the kids together at once. Too bad I never got a picture of them....."(